Sheet feeder



1958 J. E. VANDEMAN 2,857,1

SHEET FEEDER Filed Aug. 16, 1956 e Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

JAGK E. VANOEMAN fiMM ATTORNEYS 1958 J. E. VANDEMAN' 2,857,160

SHEET FEEDER Filed Aug. 16, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

JACK E. VANDEMAN ATTORNEYS Oct. 21, 1958 Filed Aug. 16, 1956 J. E.VANDEMAN SHEET FEEDER 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

JACK E. VANMMAN ATTORNEYS Oct. 21, 1958 J. E. VANDEMAN 2,857,160

' SHEET FEEDER Filed Aug. 16, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

.Max 5. valvasmuv AT MEYs' Oct. 21, 1958 J. E. VANDEMAN 2,357,150

SHEET FEEDER Filed Aug. 16, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN TOR.

JACK E. [IA/WE MAN m x ,4 wzaaw ATTORNEYS Oct. 21, 1958 J. E. VANDEMANSHEET FEEDER 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 16, 1956 HVVENTUR.

ATYU AHQCY QSRSUNQ United States Patent SHEET FEEDER Jack E. Vandeman,Berea, Ohio, assignor to Harris- Intertype Corporation, a corporation ofDelaware Application August 16, 1956, Serial No. 604,445

9 Claims. (Cl. 271-48) This invention relates to a sheet feeder forprinting presses and other sheet handling machines. The invention has todo with a method and means for feeding sheets in a stream of underlappedsheets which involves commencing side registration of each sheet earlierin the feeding cycle than has been possible heretofore.

Prior to the present invention, the time required for registering sheetsbefore feeding them to the printing press has had an effect upon the gapsize or non-printing area of the press cylinders. When front stops arelocated above the feedboard as shown in U. S. Patent 2,571,805 to Wood,it is necessary for the tail of a sheet going into the press to be pastthe front stops before they can descend to intercept the second sheet.This is true Whether feeding in stream or sheet by sheet fashion. Thesecond sheet must be at rest on the feed table for a period long enoughto front register the sheet against the stops and to draw the sheettransversely of the sheet path against side gauges to side register thesheet. While the sheet being registered is at rest on the feed table,the preceding sheet is advancing into the press. Therefore the distancebetween the tail edge of one sheet and the leading edge of the nextsheet is controlled by or is a function of the total amount of timeallotted to front and side registration.

In a device such as that shown in Backhouse Patent 2,285,076 the frontstops intercept the second sheet from beneath the feed table before thetail of an outgoing sheet has passed the front stops on its way to theprinting press. With this mechanism the commencement of frontregistration is not determined by the position of the tail of theoutgoing sheet. This eliminates such commencement of front registrationfrom having any effect on or being a function of the distance betweenthe tail edge of one sheet and the leading edge of the following sheet-However, side registration still took place only after the tail of theoutgoing sheet passed the point at which side registering mechanismoperated on the sheets. The time for side registration, which may be asmuch as twice the time required for front registration on certainpresses, still imposed a limitation on the closeness of spacing betweensheets, and consequently on cylinder gap size.

The present invention enables the commencement of side registrationbeneath the tail of an outgoing sheet, and therefore is independent ofthe position of the tail of that sheet. This removes the last obstacleof registration time, either front or side, having any effect orimposing any limitation on the gap size of cylinders, and thus upon thespacing between the tail edge of one sheet and. the leading edge of thenext sheet.

Ordinarily, the gap size will be reduced through use of the presentinvention but will not be completely omitted. since room must beprovided for operation of gripper mechanisms and since further, plate orblanket cylinders of the printing couple must be provided with spacefor'clamping plates or blankets to such cylinders. However,. since sideregistration will now have been removed as a factor limiting gap size,advantage of this fact may be taken in any one or any combination ofways well known in the art, for example, (1) the speed of the press andconsequently the number of printed sheets produced may be increased; (2)the gap size of the plate and blanket cylinders may be reduced to permitprinting sheets of greater length with the same cylinder size; (3) theamount of time of either front or side registration or the total of bothmaybe increased, or (4) the cylinder diameter may be decreased althoughthe same size sheets are still printed thereby. Other possibilities mayoccur to one skilled in the art.

One of the objects of the invention therefore is the provision of animproved method and means for feeding sheets from a moving stream to arotary press in which side registration of a sheet may be effected whilethe tail of a preceding sheet overlies the side registering point.

An ancillary object is the utilization of earlier side registration toincrease press speed, increase sheet length, increase registration time,or decrease cylinder diameter; or to combine any of these advantages.

Another object is the provision of a method for permitting the sideregistering mechanism for a given sheet to operate beneath a liftedportion of the preceding sheet while the latter sheet is in motion.

Still another object is to provide side gauging elements which operateon the top and bottom of a sheet to frictionally drive it against a sidegauge, the element engaging the top of the sheet being beneath anoutgoing sheet at the commencement of side registration.

Another object is the provision of a gauging finger which functionsadditionally to lift a preceding sheet.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with thedescription of that embodiment of the invention which, for the purposesof the present application I have illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmental perspective view of a sheet feeder embodying theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmental elevational view, partly in transverse verticalsection, of a feed board equipped with a gauging and lifting finger forcarrying out the invention.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the first sheet of a streamjust as the feed rolls close on a front and side registered sheet, thesheet still being gripped by the side registering mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the front stops dropped, the registeredsheet having been raised to permit a second sheet-to pass beneath theraising means.

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the foremost sheet of a stream after ithas been taken by a printing press cylinder, the second sheet havingpassed beneath the gang-' ing finger.

Fig. 6 is a similar view but showing the second-sheet of the stream asit reaches the front stops and is about to be front registered.

Fig. 7 shows the second sheet front registered and being gripped betweenthe gauging finger and a supporting roll, side registration being aboutto begin.

Fig. 8 is a fragmental transverse view showing the gauge finger at thepoint of completion of the side gauging operation.

Fig. 9 is a similar view, the finger having traveled outwardly beyondthe edge of the feed board.

Fig. 10 is a similar view after the gauging finger has traveleddownwardly.

Fig. 11 is a similar view with the gauging finger traveling inwardlybeneath the gauged sheet and lifting a portion of it upwardly.

Fig. 12 is a similar view with the gauging finger at the limit of itsinward motion and lifted upwardly out of the in .a horizontal directionin this bracket.

scended into contact with the second sheet andgri-ps that sheet againstthe supporting idler roller. Movement of the finger outwardly for sidegauging the sheet is about to begin. N Fig. 14 is a timing diagram.

Referring .to Fig. l, a cylinderfof apr'inting'. press is shown at 15..Itmay be the impression cylinder oranauxiliaryofeed cylinder, forexample. On it-are a series of front gauging pins 1.6.and a number ofsheet grippers-17. The feed board 18-of .a .sheet feeder provided withfor warding tapes ,19 carries a stream of underlappedsheets forwardtoward the press. A series of front stops 20 are adapted to be projectedupwardly through slots in .the feed board-for front registering thesheets.

After the front and side registering operations .on a sheet.are.complete.d and the preceding sheet has progressed into the press,feed rolls of conventional character grip the .sheet andpush it forward.againstlhe gauge pins 16 on thecylinder 15. These feed .rolls .mayembody .driven lower rolls 21 rotating on a fixed axis anddropidlerrolls 22 which swing upand-down around the .axis .of a shaft 23.The feed rolls will come together shortly after the tail .of thepreceding sheet passes between the separated rolls, which condition isillustrated in Fig. 3.

To accomplish the objective of commencing side register-earlier than hasbeen possible on conventional mechanisms of thissort, I provide meansforlifting whatis .then the first sheet of the stream to leave clearaspace beneath itfor side registration of the second sheet.Iillustrate'this meansas a lifting and gauging finger 24, which fingeris movable 11p and down and in and out. It moves transversely inwardwhile in .its lower position in a slot .14 in the feed board adjacentthe side gauge 25 and beneath a sheet S at a time when that is the onlysheet .onthe feed board .at that point. The finger then moves up toclear theboard .so thatthe next sheet S may pass beneath the finger.Next the finger moves down to grip 'the'sheet S against .an idler roll26, after which itmoves out to pull the sheet-outwardly against the sidegauge 25. Then it moves out beyond the feed board and downwardlypreparatory to its next inward movement.

The function of the idler roller '26 is to provide a rolling surfaceagainst which the sheet bears while the gauging finger .24 is movingoutwardly to side register the sheet. The roller 26 may have a small upand down movement to bring it into operative and inoperative positions,or it may be mounted to turn upon a fixed axis with its top:surfacelevel with the top surface of the feed board, in which latterevent the movements of the gauging finger 24-.must compensate for thelack of movement of the ,idlerroll.

As indicated in Fig. 2 a portion'27 of the frameofthe machine supports avertically slidable bracket28 :which is suitably guided to preventmovement other than vertical movement. The gauging finger 24 istransversely slidable In case the roller 26 is supported upon thebracket 28, as in Fig. 2, it may be mounted upon an arm 29 which ispivoted at 30 to the bracket and'is urged upwardly resiliently by acompression spring 31. An adjustable stop 32 bearing against the lowersurface of the feed board prevents the roller from rising beyond thelevel'illustrated in Fig. 2.

Bracket 28 carries a follower roller 33 which runs upon a cam :34 thatis securedto a shaft 35 which turns once for each-cycle ofthe press.This cam has a 'high'spot'to raise the gauge finger to the positionindicated in Fig. 12, a low spot for positioning it as indicated inFigs. 8, 9 and 13, and a second still lower spot for the positionillustrated inFigs. and 11.

As a means for producing the in and out movementsof the gauge finger Imay provide an operatinglever 36 pivoted at '37 to a frame bracket. Aroller follower 38 on this. lever runs in the groove of a barrel cam-3.9mounted upon-andfixed to shaft 35. The upper end .of the; lever ispivoted to one end of a link 40, theotherend of which cylinder.

is pivotally carried by a downturned outer end of the gauge finger.Thus, in and out movement may be imparted to the gauge finger, thetiming being dependent upon the shape of the cam.

0peration.1n Figs. 3 and 4 the first sheet S of the stream has beengripped by the feed rolls 21, 22 and is about to be started forwardtoward the gauge pins 16 on the cylinder 15 to be taken byzthe sheetgrippers 17 on the At this time the gauge finger 24 moves out beyond theside of the feed board, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Immediatelythereafter the gauge finger begins .its inward travel, it being so shownin Fig. 11. The point of the finger enters the slot 14 somewhat belowthe level of the feed board and deflects a portion of the sheet Supwardly. The finger then rises to the position of Fig. 12, lifting theside edge portion of the sheet S still further while the succeedingsheet S moves forwardly beneath the finger. After sheet S reaches and isfront registered against the front stops 20 asshown in Fig. 6, thefinger 24 descendsand presses sheet S against the supporting idler roll26. The finger 24 then starts to move outwardly to .drawzthe sheet Ssidewise against the side gauge 25 to effect side registration asillustrated in Fig. 7. Since it was I previously necessary in commercialregistering mechanisms to wait until one sheet had completely passed-thepoint .of side registration before the next sheet could-be sideregistered, it is obvious that the present invention accomplishes .avaluable result, for in accordance with it that Wait or delay iseliminated. Side registration may take placeimmediately after frontregistrationis effected, even though the previous sheet overlies theside registering point of the sheet to be side registered. Thelifting ofthe side portionof the overlyingsheet by a fingerinserted beneath themoving sheet makes possible the earlier operation ofthe side registeringmechanism, and as soon as side registration has been completed the sheetmay be moved forward to the grippers on the first cylinder of theprinting machine. Of course a sheet can be advanced to the press onlywhen the press is ready .to take it and in a rotary press this can.occur onlyafter the gap in a printing cylinder has passed a given pointfollowing the printing portion of the cycle. In registering mechanismembodying feed rolls which effect final registration against gauge pinson a cylinder, I prefer to utilize :the gain I have. achieved tolengthen the time for side registering a sheet. I'find that I canincrease the time available in degrees of press rotation as much .asthirty percent over what waspreviously possible with the same mechanismbut without the taillifting feature.

The timing of the front stops, the feed rolls and the gauge finger isshown in Fig. 14. The gauge finger 24, it will be observed, is inwardlyof the side gauge and in its up position the greater part of the cycle.Its period of downward and outward movement and of movement back to inand up position occupies a relatively small portion of the cycle.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The method of stream feeding sheets toward a printing press or other.sheet handling machine, which comprises forwarding a first sheet towardthe sheet handling machine, lifting .a side portion of the moving firstsheet as a second sheet travels therebeneath, front registering thesecond sheet against front stops raised from beneath the stream ofsheets, grasping the second sheet from aboveby transversely movablemeans and below at a pointadjacent said lifted .side portion of thefirst sheet while the first sheet overlies said side gauging point, andside gauging the second sheet with said transversely movable means.

2. The method of stream feeding sheets toward a printing press or othersheet handling machine, which comprises front .and side registering thefirst sheet of the stream, forwarding said first sheet toward the sheet-handling machine, raising front stops from beneath the sheet stream,lifting-freely aside :portion of the moving :first sheet as a secondsheet travels therebeneath, front registering the second sheet of thestream against said raised stops, at least commencing side gauging thesecond sheet from beneath the lifted portion of the first sheet beforethe rear edge of the first sheet clears the gauging point, dropping thefront stops, and feeding the front and side gauged second sheet forwardtoward the sheet handling machine.

3. The method of stream feeding underlapped sheets toward a printingpress or other sheet handling machine which comprises forwarding a firstfront side registered sheet toward the sheet handling machine with sheetforwarding means, and gripping said first sheet with gripping means on acylinder of said machine to carry the sheet into the machine,discontinuing the forwarding action of said forwarding means after saidgripping means receives the sheet, lifting freely a side portion of themoving first sheet with side gauging means to permit a second sheet totravel beneath said means, front registering the second sheet of thestream against front stops raised from beneath the sheet stream whilemaintaining said first sheet in lifted position, engaging the secondsheet with the side gauging means at least from above and side gaugingthe second sheet upon completion of front registration, commencement ofthe side gauging occurring while a portion of the first sheet overliessaid side gauging means, graping said sheet from above and below withsaid forwarding means after completion of side registration and afterthe tail end of said first sheet has passed said forwarding means, andforwarding said second sheet toward the sheet handling machine.

4. The method of stream feeding sheets toward a printing press or othersheet handling machine, which comprises forwarding a first sheet towardthe sheet handling machine, lifting a side portion of the moving firstsheet as a second sheet travels therebeneath, front registering thesecond sheet against front stops raised from beneath the stream ofsheets, grasping said second sheet from above and below at a pointadjacent said lifted side portion of the first sheet, and commencingpulling said second sheet transversely of the direction of sheet travelthrough said machine while said first sheet overlies said grasping pointto side register the second sheet against a side gauge.

5. In a sheet feeder, a feed board, bottom front stops, a side gauge onone edge of said board rearwardly of said front stops, and means forconveying a stream of underlapped sheets forwardly toward said stops,means adjacent the side gauge for moving an edge portion of a firstsheet upwardly with respect to a second sheet traveling therebeneath andfunctioning while the said edge of said first sheet is so elevated tocommence side registration of said second sheet before the tail of thefirst sheet passes the side gauge.

6. In a sheet feeder, a feed board, bottom front stops, a side gauge onone edge of the board rearwardly of said front stops, means forconveying a stream of underlapped sheets forwardly toward said stops, atransverse finger movable in and out and up and down, means for causingsaid finger to move in beneath a first sheet and up to lift that sheetabove a second sheet traveling therebeneath, then down to operativelycontact said second sheet and outwardly to draw the second sheet againstthe side gauge, at least the commencement of the outward movementoccurring before the tail of the first sheet has passed said finger.

7. A sheet feeder substantially as defined in claim 6, said feed boardhaving a slot therein extending inwardly from the side gauge side of theboard, said finger movable inwardly into said slot from an initialposition beneath the level of the feed board and then upwardly to lift aportion of the first sheet, then down to contact the second sheet, andout to commence drawing said second sheet against said side gauge beforethe tail of the first sheet passes said finger. I

8. A sheet feeder substantially as defined in claim 7, comprising aroller projecting into said slot from beneath said board, the uppersurface of the roller lying at substantially the same level as the uppersurface of the board and serving to grip the sheet in cooperation withsaid finger as the latter moves outwardly.

9. A sheet feeder substantially as defined in claim 8, wherein the uppersurface of said finger is inclined downwardly and inwardly to assist inlifting the first sheet preparatory to front and side registering thesecond sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,008,165 Wormser July 16, 1935 2,011,745 Wormser Aug. 20, 19352,182,023 Harrold Dec. 5, 1939

